Artyom Chaika Added to U.S. Magnitsky List for Alleged Corruption

The United States has added Artyom Chaika, the son of Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, to its list of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.

The U.S. introduced the Magnitsky Act in 2012 to sanction Russian individuals linked to the death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in police custody. Since then, the U.S. Congress has enacted the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction foreign persons responsible for human rights abuses or significant corruption.

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U.S. President Donald Trump issued his latest executive order on Thursday, blocking the property of Artyom Chaika, as well as 12 other persons "involved in serious human rights abuses and corruption," according to a statement on the U.S. Treasury Department site.

The Treasury Department said that Artyom Chaika "has leveraged his father’s position and ability to award his subordinates to unfairly win state-owned assets and contracts and put pressure on business competitors."

The statement detailed allegations of corruption and coercion in a 2014 highway construction project and a bid on a state-owned stone and gravel company.

Artyom Chaika made headlines after anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny released a viral video investigation that claimed Chaika was involved in the expropriation of a shipping company in the Far East whose director was allegedly strangled.

The investigation said that Artyom Chaika and his brother Igor, who have amassed businesses and real estate worth millions of dollars, enjoyed the protection of prosecutors.